With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the 1989 Revolution, Romania started a series of political and economic reforms. After a decade of post-revolution economic problems, Romania made economic reforms such as low flat tax rates in 2005 and joined the European Union on January 1, 2007. Romania is now an upper-middle income country with high human development,[4] although within the European Union, Romania's income level remains one of the lowest.
The name of Romania (Romanian: România) comes from Romanian: român which is a derivative of the Latin: Romanus (Roman).[7] The fact that Romanians call themselves a derivative of Romanus (Romanian: Român/Rumân) is first mentioned in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia.[8][9][10][11] The oldest surviving document written in the Romanian language is a 1521 letter known as "Neacşu's Letter from Câmpulung".[12] This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Rumanian" in a Romanian written text, Wallachia being here named The Rumanian Land – Ţeara Rumânească (Ţeara from the Latin: Terra land).
In the following centuries, Romanian documents use interchangeably two spelling forms: român and rumân.[note 1] Socio-linguistic evolutions in the late 17th century led to a process of semantic differentiation: the form "rumân", presumably usual among lower classes, got the meaning of "bondsman", while the form român kept an ethno-linguistic meaning.[13] After the abolition of serfdom in 1746, the form "rumân" gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form "român", "românesc".[note 2]Tudor Vladimirescu, a revolutionary leader of the early 19th century, used "Rumânia" to refer exclusively to the principality of Wallachia, the southern part of modern Romania.[14] The name "România" as common homeland of all Romanians is documented in the early 19th century.[note 3] This name has been officially in use since December 11, 1861.[15]
English-language sources still used the terms "Rumania" or "Roumania", borrowed from the French spelling "Roumanie", as recently as World War II,[16] but since then those terms have largely been replaced with the official[17] spelling "Romania".
The oldest modern human remains in Europe were discovered in the "Cave With Bones" in present day Romania.[18] The remains are approximately 42,000 years old and as Europe’s oldest remains of Homo sapiens, they may represent the first such people to have entered the continent.[19] But the earliest written evidence of people living in the territory of the present-day Romania comes from Herodotus in book IV of his Histories (Herodotus) written 440 BCE, where he writes about the Getae tribes.[20]
Dacians, considered a part of these Getae, were a branch of Thracians that inhabited Dacia (corresponding to modern Romania, Moldova and northern Bulgaria). The Dacian kingdom reached its maximum expansion during King Burebista, between 82BC - 44 BC, and soon came under the scrutiny of the neighboring Roman Empire. After the assassination of Burebista, Dacia split into 4 or 5 smaller kingdoms, the Romans conquering Moesia by 29 BC. The Dacian Wars, between 87 AD - 106 AD ended with the victory of the Romans, and the transforming of the core of the kingdom into the province of Roman Dacia.[21]
Dacia was famed for its rich ore deposits, and especially gold and silver were plentiful.[22] Rome colonized Dacia Felix with colonists from all over the empire ("ex toto orbe Romano infinitas") .[23] This brought Vulgar Latin and started a period of intense romanization, that would give birth to proto-Romanian language.[24][25] Nevertheless, the attacks on the province by the Goths and the free dacian tribes of Carpi between 240AD - 256AD, at which date "Dacia was lost", Rome withdrew its administration from Dacia around 271 AD, thus making it the first province to be abandoned.[26][27]
Several competing theories have been generated to explain the origin of modern Romanians. Linguistic and geo-historical analysis tend to indicate that Romanians have coalesced as a major ethnic group both South and North of the Danube.[28]For further discussion, see Origin of Romanians.
Since the 11th century, Transylvania had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary with a largely autonomous status.[36] In the year 1366, king Louis I Anjou of Hungary issued a law-and-order Decree of Turda[37] in part explicitly targeted against the Romanians from Transylvania (presumptuosam astuciam diversorum malefactorum, specialiter Olachorum,1 in ipsa terra nostra existencium - the evil arts of many malefactors, especially Vlachs /Romanians that live in our country; exterminandum seu delendum in ipsa terra malefactores quarumlibet nacionum, signanter Olachorum - to expel or exterminate from this country malefactors belonging to any nation, especially Vlachs/Romanians).
Through the same decree, Hungarian nobility (nobilis Hungarus) is partially redefined in terms of adherence to the Roman Catholic Church, thus excluding the Eastern Orthodoxschismatic Romanians. Another consequence of the decree was socio-economic: the status of nobleman was determined not only by ownership over land and people, but (from 1366 on) by the possession of a royal donation certificate for the land owned.
The Romanian social elite, chiefly made up of aldermen (iudices or knezes), managed to procure few writs of donation; they had ruled over their villages according to the old law of the land (ius valachicum, with its feudal version, ius keneziale); their lands were, to a great extent, expropriated. Lacking a recognized title to real property, the Eastern Orthodox Romanian elite was not able any more to maintain an Estate of their own and to participate in the country's assemblies. Insofar as a Romanian elite was preserved, it adjusted to these circumstances by converting to Roman Catholicism and being absorbed into Hungarian Catholic aristocratic estate (nobilis Hungarus). Those Romanian knezes (and voivods) who did not convert and could not gain the desired privileges gradually declined into the ranks of subjects or even bondsmen.
Small Voivodeships with varying degrees of independence developed from the beginning of the 13th century, but only in the 14th century did the larger principalities of Wallachia (1310) and Moldavia (around 1352) consolidate enough to oppose the neighbouring Kingdom of Hungary, Polish kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire.[40][41]Basarab I, Mircea the Elder, Vlad III the Impaler in Wallachia, Alexander the Good, Stephen the Great in Moldavia, developed the Romanian countries, and fought to maintain independence at a crossroad of empires.
By 1541, the entire Balkan peninsula and the central part of Hungary became Ottoman provinces. In contrast, Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania came under Ottoman suzerainty, but conserved a great degree of internal autonomy and, until the 18th century, some external independence. During this period these countries witnessed the slow disappearance of the feudal system; the distinguishment of rulers like Vasile Lupu and Dimitrie Cantemir in Moldavia, Matei Basarab and Constantin Brâncoveanu in Wallachia, John Hunyadi (Iancu de Hunedoara) and Gabriel Bethlen in Transylvania.[42]
Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania united under the rule of Michael the Brave.
In 1600, the principalities of Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania were simultaneously headed by the prince of WallachiaMichael the Brave, Ban of Oltenia, but the unity dissolved after Michael was killed, only one year later, by the soldiers of Habsburg army general Giorgio Basta. The rule of Michael the Brave is regarded in Romanian historiography as the first attempt to unite the three principalities and to lay down foundations of a single state in a territory comparable to today's Romania.[43]
After his death, as vassal tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, Moldova and Wallachia had complete internal autonomy and external independence, which was finally lost in the 18th century. In 1699, Transylvania became a territory of the Habsburg Monarchy, following the Austrian victory over the Ottomans in the Great Turkish War. The Austrians, in their turn, rapidly expanded their empire: incorporating Oltenia (western Wallachia) in 1718, to return it in 1739, and occupying Bukovina (north-western Moldavia) in 1775.
The development of the Russian Empire as a political and military power materialized in occupation of Bessarabia (eastern Moldavia) in 1812. Thereafter the Phanariot Epoch was characterized by excessive fiscal policies and spoliation of the local inhabitants determined by increased economic needs of the Turkish sultans during the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire and by the ambitions of some of the Greek Hospodars, who mindful of their fragile status, sought to pay back their creditors and increase their wealth while they still were in a position of power.
Thus, Romania was created as a personal union, albeit a Romania that did not include Transylvania. There, the upper class and the aristocracy remained mainly Hungarian, and Romanian nationalism inevitably ran up against Hungarian in the late 19th century. As in the previous 900 years, Austria-Hungary, especially under the Dual Monarchy of 1867, kept the Hungarians firmly in control even in the parts of Transylvania where Romanians constituted a local majority.
Territorial changes of Romania since 1859 until present
The Alba Iulia National Assembly, December 1, 1918
The first two years of the World War I saw a neutral Romania, as its nominal alliance with the Central Powers stated Romania was to oblige only in the event Austro-Hungarian Empire was attacked; while Romania's demands of recognition of its right to annex territories of Austria-Hungary with a Romanian populace were accepted by the Entente only in 1916 in the Treaty of Bucharest.
The Romanian military campaign launched in August 1916 was largely unsuccessful, with Central Powers troops capturing Bucharest and occupying Wallachia and Dobrudja, the Romanian Army and the Russian Imperial Army defending Moldova until December 1917. The collapse of the Russian Empire during 1917 and the disbandment of its army left Romania isolated and surrounded on the Eastern Front, and an armistice with the Central Powers was signed in December 1917.
The National Council of the Moldavian Democratic Republic proclaimed union with Romania on 27 March 1918. Between May and July 1918, The Treaty of Bucharest was underway between German Empire and Romania with harsh conditions for Romania, and King Ferdinand of Romania refused to ratify it. The Hundred Days Offensive during the summer of 1918, meant the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary on the Western and Italian fronts, allowing Romania to renounce the treaty in October 1918. Romania re-entered the war on November 10, 1918. The next day, the Treaty of Bucharest was nullified by the terms of the Armistice of Compiègne. On November 15, 1918 Bukovina proclaimed union with Romania. The National Assembly of the Romanians of Transylvania proclaimed union with Romania on December 1, 1918.
Total Romanian World War I casualties from 1914 to 1918, military and civilian, within contemporary borders, were estimated at 748,000.[55]
The Romanian expression România Mare (literal translation "Great Romania", but more commonly rendered "Greater Romania") generally refers to the Romanian state in the interwar period, and by extension, to the territory Romania covered at the time (see map). Romania achieved at that time its greatest territorial extent (almost 300,000 km2/120,000 sq mi).[56][56]
The socio-political turmoil resulted in the abdication of Carol II of Romania, and the installment the National Legionary State, in which power was shared by General Ion Antonescu and the Iron Guard. Tensions between the two led to a Legionary Rebellion which was promptly crushed by the Army, and Antonescu established his own dictatorship, allying Romania with Nazi Germany. In 1941 Romania entered the war against the Soviet Union on the side of the Axis powers.
In August 1944, Antonescu was toppled and arrested by King Michael I of Romania. Romania joined the Allies, but its role in the defeat of Nazi Germany was not recognized by the Paris Peace Conference of 1947.[63] By the end of the war, the Romanian Army had suffered about 519,000 casualties.[64] The Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 rendered the Vienna Diktat void, and re-established Romania's western borders. Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia remained occupied by the USSR.
Jewish Holocaust victims totaled 469,000 within the 1939 borders, including 325,000 in Bessarabia and Bukovina.[65]
From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, the Communist government established a reign of terror, carried out mainly through the Securitate (the new secret police). During this time they launched several campaigns to eliminate "enemies of the state", in which numerous individuals were killed or imprisoned for arbitrary political or economic reasons.[73] Punishment included deportation, internal exile, and internment in forced labour camps and prisons; dissent was vigorously suppressed. A notorious experiment in this period took place in the Piteşti prison, where a group of political opponents were put into a program of reeducation through torture. Historical records show hundreds of thousands of abuses, deaths and incidents of torture against a wide range of people, from political opponents to ordinary citizens.[74]
In 1965, Nicolae Ceauşescu came to power and started to pursue independent policies such as being the only Warsaw Pact country to condemn the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, and to continue diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967; establishing economic (1963) and diplomatic (1967) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany.[75] Also, close ties with the Arab countries (and the PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel–Egypt and Israel–PLO peace processes.[76]
But as Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 (from 3 to 10 billion US dollars),[77] the influence of international financial organisations such as the IMF or the World Bank grew, conflicting with Nicolae Ceauşescu's autarchic policies. He eventually initiated a project of total reimbursement of the foreign debt by imposing policies that impoverished Romanians and exhausted the Romanian economy, while also greatly extending the authority of the police state, and imposing a cult of personality. These led to a dramatic decrease in Ceauşescu's popularity and culminated in his overthrow and execution in the bloody Romanian Revolution of 1989.
In 2006, the Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania estimated the number of direct victims of communist repression at two million people.[78][79] This number does not include people who died in liberty as a result of their treatment in communist prisons, nor does it include people who died because of the dire economic circumstances in which the country found itself.
The protesters did not recognize the results of the election, deeming them undemocratic, and asked for the exclusion from the political life of the former high-ranking Communist Party members. The protest rapidly grew to become an ongoing mass demonstration (known as the Golaniad). The peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence, and the violent intervention of coal miners from the Jiu Valley led to what is remembered as the June 1990 Mineriad.[82]
The subsequent disintegration of the Front produced several political parties including the Romanian Democrat Social Party (later Social Democratic Party), the Democratic Party and the (Alliance for Romania). The first governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments and with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then there have been four democratic changes of government: in 1996, the democratic-liberal opposition and its leader Emil Constantinescu acceded to power; in 2000 the Social Democrats returned to power, with Iliescu once again president; and in 2004 Traian Băsescu was elected president, with an electoral coalition called Justice and Truth Alliance. Băsescu was narrowly re-elected in 2009.[83]
Post-Cold War Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe, eventually joining NATO in 2004, and hosting the 2008 summit in Bucharest.[84] The country applied in June 1993 for membership in the European Union and became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a member on January 1, 2007.[85]
Following the free travel agreement and politics of the post-Cold War period, as well as hardship of the life in the 1990s economic depression, Romania has an increasingly large diaspora, estimated at over 2 million people. The main emigration targets are Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, UK, Canada and the USA.[86]
During the 2000s, Romania enjoyed one of the highest economic growth rates in Europe and has been referred to as "the Tiger of Eastern Europe."[87] This has been accompanied by a significant improvement in human development.[88] The country has been successful in reducing internal poverty and establishing a functional democracy.[89] However, Romania still faces issues related to infrastructure,[90] medical services,[91] education,[92] and corruption.[93]
With a surface area of 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi), Romania is the largest country in southeastern Europe and the twelfth-largest in Europe.[94] A large part of Romania's border with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with the Republic of Moldova.[94] The Danube flows into the Black Sea within Romania's territory forming the Danube Delta, the second largest and the best preserved delta in Europe, and a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity World Heritage Site.[95] Other important rivers are the Siret, running north-south through Moldavia, the Olt, running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to Oltenia, and the Mureş, running through Transylvania from East to West.[94]
Romania's terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the center of Romania, with fourteen of its mountain ranges reaching above the altitude of 2,000 meters.[94] The highest mountain in Romania is Moldoveanu Peak (2,544 m/8,346 ft). In south-central Romania, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the Bărăgan Plains. Romania's geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna.[94]
A high percentage (47% of the land area) of the country is covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems.[96] Since almost half of all forests in Romania (13% of the country) have been managed for watershed conservation rather than production, Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe.[96] The integrity of Romanian forest ecosystems is indicated by the presence of the full range of European forest fauna, including 60% and 40% of all European brown bears and wolves, respectively.[97] There are also almost 400 unique species of mammals (of which Carpathian chamois are best known), birds, reptiles and amphibians in Romania.[98]
There are almost 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) (almost 5% of the total area) of protected areas in Romania.[99] Of these, Danube Delta Reserve Biosphere is the largest and least damaged wetland complex in Europe, covering a total area of 5,800 km2 (2,200 sq mi).[100] The significance of the biodiversity of the Danube Delta has been internationaly recognised. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve in September 1990, a Ramsar site in May 1991, and over 50% of its area was placed on the World Heritage List in December 1991.[101] Within its boundaries lies one of the most extensive reed bed systems in the world.[102] There are two other biosphera reserves: Retezat National Park and Rodna National Park.
In Romania there have been identified 3,700 plant species from which to date 23 have been declared natural monuments, 74 missing, 39 are endangered, 171 vulnerable and 1,253 are considered rare.[103] The three major vegetation areas in Romania are the alpine zone, the forest zone and the steppe zone. The vegetation is distributed in an storied manner in accordance with the characteristics of soil and climate, but according to altitude as: oak, flasks[disambiguation needed], linden, ash (in the steppe zone and low hills), beech, oak (between 500 and 1200 meters), spruce, fir, pine (between 1200 and 1800 m), juniper, Mountain Pine and dwarf trees (in 1800 and 2000 meters), alpine meadows consisting of small herbs (over 2000 meters).[104] Off the high valleys, due to persistent moisture, there is a specific vegetation of meadow, reed, rush, sedge, and often with patches of willows, poplars and Arini. In the Danube Delta swamp vegetation is dominant.[104]
Satellite image of Romania in December 2001, showing most of its territory under snow.
Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) in the south and 8 °C (46 °F) in the north.[106] The extreme recorded temperatures are 44.5 °C (112.1 °F) in Ion Sion 1951 and −38.5 °C (−37 °F) in Bod 1942.[107]
Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summers are generally very warm to hot, with summer (June to August) average maximum temperatures in Bucharest being around 28 °C (82 °F), with temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F) fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country. Minima in Bucharest and other lower-lying areas are around 16 °C (61 °F), but at higher altitudes both maxima and minima decline considerably. Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful foliage. Winters can be cold, with average maxima even in lower-lying areas being no more than 2 °C (36 °F) and below −15 °C (5.0 °F) in the highest mountains, where some areas of permafrost occur on the highest peaks.[108]
Precipitation is average with over 750 mm (30 in) per year only on the highest western mountains — much of it falling as snow which allows for an extensive skiing industry. In the south-centern parts of the country (around Bucharest) the level of precipitation drops to around 600 mm (24 in),[109] while in the Danube Delta, rainfall levels are very low, and average only around 370 mm.
According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 21,698,181 and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the coming years as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates. Romanians make up 89.5% of the population. The largest ethnic minorities are the Szekelys and Hungarians, who make up 6.6% of the population and Roma (Gypsies), who make up 2.46% of the population.[note 4][110]
Of the 745,421 Germans in Romania in 1930,[112] only about 60,000 remained.[113] In 1924, there were 796,056 Jews in the Kingdom of Romania.[114] The number of Romanians and individuals with ancestors born in Romania living abroad is estimated at around 12 million.[86] As of 2009, there were also approximately 133,000 immigrants living in Romania,[88] primarily from Moldova, Turkey and China.
The official language of Romania is Romanian, an Eastern Romance language related to Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91% of the population, with Hungarian and Romani, being the most important minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respectively.[111] Until the 1990s, there was also a substantial number of German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons, even though many have since emigrated to Germany, leaving only 45,000 native German speakers in Romania.
In localities where a given ethnic minority makes up more than 20% of the population, that minority's language can be used in the public administration and justice system, while native-language education and signage is also provided. English and French are the main foreign languages taught in schools. English is spoken by 5 million Romanians, French is spoken by 4–5 million, and German, Italian and Spanish are each spoken by 1–2 million people.[115]
Historically, French was the predominant foreign language spoken in Romania, even though English has since superseded it. Consequently, Romanian English-speakers tend to be younger than Romanian French-speakers. Romania is, however, a full member of La Francophonie, and hosted the Francophonie Summit in 2006.[116] German has been taught predominantly in Transylvania, due to traditions tracing back to the Austro-Hungarian rule in this province.
Romania also has a Muslim minority concentrated in Dobrogea, mostly of Turkish ethnicity and numbering 67,500 people.[117] According to the results of the 2002 census, there are 66,846 Romanian citizens of the Unitarian faith (0.3% of the total population). Church officials place the number of believers at 80,000-100,000.[2] Of the total Hungarian-speaking minority in Romania, Unitarians represent 4.55%, being the third denominational group after members of the Reformed Church in Romania (47.10%) and Roman Catholics (41.20%). Since 1700, the Unitarian Church has had 125 parishes — in 2006, there were 110 Unitarian ministers and 141 places of worship in Romania.[118]
Based on the 2002 census data, there are also 6,179 Jews, 23,105 people who are of no religion and/or atheist, and 11,734 who refused to answer. On December 27, 2006, a new Law on Religion was approved under which religious denominations can only receive official registration if they have at least 20,000 members, or about 0.1 percent of Romania's total population.[119]
Bucharest is the capital and the largest city in Romania. At the census in 2002, its population was over 1.9 million.[120] The metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of about 2.2 million. There are several plans to increase further its metropolitan area to about 20 times the area of the city proper.[121][122]
Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian educational system has been in a continuous process of reform that has been both praised and criticized.[124] According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the educational system is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Research. Each level has its own form of organization and is subject to different legislation. Kindergarten is optional for children between 3 and 6 years old. Schooling starts at age 7 (sometimes 6), and is compulsory until the 10th grade (which usually corresponds to the age of 17 or 16).[125]Primary and secondary education are divided into 12 or 13 grades. Higher education is aligned with the European higher education area.
Aside from the official schooling system, and the recently added private equivalents, there exists a semi-legal, informal, fully private tutoring system. Tutoring is mostly used during secondary as a preparation for the various examinations, which are notoriously difficult. Tutoring is widespread, and it can be considered a part of the Education System. It has subsisted and even prospered during the Communist regime.[126]
In 2004, some 4.4 million of the population were enrolled in school. Out of these, 650,000 in kindergarten, 3.11 million (14% of population) in primary and secondary level, and 650,000 (3% of population) in tertiary level (universities).[127] In the same year, the adult literacy rate was 97.3% (45th worldwide), while the combined gross enrollment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools was 75% (52nd worldwide).[128]
The results of the PISA assessment study in schools for the year 2000 placed Romania on the 34th rank out of 42 participant countries with a general weighted score of 432 representing 85% of the mean OECD score.[129] According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, in 2006 no Romanian university was included in the first 500 top universities world wide.[130] Using similar methodology to these rankings, it was reported that the best placed Romanian university, Bucharest University, attained the half score of the last university in the world top 500.[131]
The Constitution of Romania is based on the Constitution of France's Fifth Republic[132] and was approved in a national referendum on December 8, 1991.[132] A plebiscite held in October 2003 approved 79 amendments to the Constitution, bringing it into conformity with European Union legislation.[132] Romania is governed on the basis of multi-party democratic system and of the segregation of the legislative, executive and judicial powers.[132] Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister. The President is elected by popular vote for maximum two terms, and since the amendments in 2003, the terms are five years.[132] The President appoints the Prime Minister, who in turn appoints the Council of Ministers.[132] While the president resides at Cotroceni Palace, the Prime Minister with the Romanian Government is based at Victoria Palace.
The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which is the supreme court of Romania.[133] There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the French model,[132][134] considering that it is based on civil law and is inquisitorial in nature. The Constitutional Court (Curtea Constituţională) is responsible for judging the compliance of laws and other state regulations to the Romanian Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the country. The constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amended by a public referendum, the last one being in 2003. Since this amendment, the court's decisions cannot be overruled by any majority of the parliament.
The country's entry into the European Union in 2007[135] has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. Nevertheless, in 2006 Brussels report, Romania and Bulgaria were described as the two most corrupt countries in the EU,[136] and it was ranked as the most corrupt EU country by Transparency International in 2009, alongside Bulgaria and Greece.[137]
Map of the 8 development regions. The 41 local administrative units are also highlighted, but Bucharest and Ilfov county are lumped together. The two form a development region of their own, surrounded by the Sud region.
Romania is divided into forty-one counties (sing. judeţ, pl. judeţe), plus the municipality of Bucharest (Bucureşti) – which has equal rank. Each county is administered by a county council (consiliu judeţean), responsible for local affairs, as well as a prefect, who is appointed by the central government but cannot be a member of any political party, responsible for the administration of national (central) affairs at the county level. Since 2008, the president of the county council (preşedintele consiliului judeţean) is directly elected by the people, and not by the county council as before that.[138]
Each county is further subdivided into cities (sing. oraş, pl. oraşe) and communes (sing. comună, pl. comune), the former being urban, and the latter being rural localities. There are a total of 319 cities and 2686 communes in Romania.[139] Each city and commune has its own mayor (primar) and local council (consiliu local). 103 of the larger and more urbanised cities have the status of municipality, which gives them greater administrative power over local affairs. Bucharest is also reckoned as a city with municipality status, but it is unique among the other localities in that it is not part of a county. It does not have a county concil, but has a prefect. Bucharest elects a general mayor (primar general) and a general city council (Consiliul General Bucureşti). Each of Bucharest's six sectors also elects a mayor and a local council.[139]
The NUTS-3 level divisions reflect Romania's administrative-territorial structure, and correspond to the 41 counties, and the Bucharest municipality.[140] Cities and communes are NUTS-5 level divisions. The country currently does not have NUTS-4 level divisions, but there are plans to make such associating neighboring localities for better coordination of local development and assimilation of national and European funds.[140]
The 41 counties and Bucharest are grouped into eight development regions corresponding to NUTS-2 divisions in the European Union.[140] Prior to Romania's accession into the European Union, these were called statistical regions, and were used exclusively for statistical purposes. Thus, albeit they formally existed for over 40 years, the regions are publicly a news. There are proposals in the future to cancel county councils (but leave the prefects) and create regional councils instead. This would not change the nomenclature of the country's territorial subdivision, but would presumably allow better coordination of policy at the local level, more autonomy, and a smaller bureaucracy.[140]
There are also proposals to use four NUTS-1 level divisions; they would be called macroregions (Romanian:Macroregiune). NUTS-1 and -2 divisions have no administrative capacity and are instead used for co-ordinating regional development projects and statistical purposes.[140]
The current government has stated its goal of strengthening ties with and helping other Eastern European countries (in particular Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia) with the process of integration with the West.[141] Romania has also made clear since the late 1990s that it supports NATO and EU membership for the democratic former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.[141] Romania also declared its public support for Turkey, Croatia and Moldova joining the European Union.[141] With Turkey, Romania shares a privileged economic relation.[142] Because it has a large Hungarian minority, Romania has also developed strong relations with Hungary – the latter supported Romania's bid to join the EU.[143]
In December 2005, President Traian Băsescu and United States Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice signed an agreement that would allow a U.S. military presence at several Romanian facilities primarily in the eastern part of the country.[144] In May 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that "Romania is one of the most trustworthy and respectable partners of the USA" during a visit of the Romanian foreign minister.[145]
The Romanian Armed Forces consist of Land, Air, and Naval Forces, and are led by a Commander-in-chief who is managed by the Ministry of Defense. The president is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces during wartime. Of the 90,000 men and women which the Armed Forces comprise, 15,000 are civilians and 75,000 are military personnel—45,800 for land, 13,250 for air, 6,800 for naval forces, and 8,800 in other fields.[149]
The total defence spending currently accounts for 2.05% of total national GDP, which represents approximately 2.9 billion dollars (ranked 39th). However, the Romanian Armed Forces will spend about 11 billion dollars between 2006 and 2011, for modernization and acquisition of new equipment.[150] The Land Forces have overhauled their equipment in the past few years, and today are an army with multiple NATO capabilities, participating in a NATO peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
The Air Force currently operates modernized SovietMiG-21LanceR fighters which are due to be replaced by second-hand F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters.[151] Also, in order to replace the bulk of the old transport force, the Air Force ordered seven new C-27J Spartantactical airlift aircraft which are to be delivered starting with late 2008.[152] Two modernized ex-Royal NavyType 22 frigates were acquired by the Naval Forces in 2004, and a further four modern missile corvettes will be commissioned until 2010.
The Dacia Logan is one of the top-selling cars in Central and Eastern Europe,[153] as well as Russia[154]
With a GDP of around $271 billion and a GDP per capita (PPP) of $12,600[155] for the year 2008, Romania is an upper-middle income country economy[156] and has been part of the European Union since January 1, 2007.
After the Communist regime was overthrown in late 1989, the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2006, according to the Romanian Statistics Office, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe.[157] Growth dampened to 6.1% in 2007,[158] but was expected to exceed 8% in 2008 because of a high production forecast in agriculture (30–50% higher than in 2007). The GDP grew by 8.9% in the first nine months of 2008, but growth fell to 2.9% in the fourth quarter and stood at 7.1% for the whole 2008 because of the financial crisis.[159]
According to Eurostat data, the Romanian PPS GDP per capita stood at 46% of the EU average in 2008.[160] Unemployment in Romania was at 3.9% in September 2007,[161] which is very low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as Poland, France, Germany and Spain. Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at 20.3% of GDP.[162] Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 25% year-on-year rise in exports in the first quarter of 2006. Romania's main exports are clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, cars, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the European Union, with Germany and Italy being the country's single largest trading partners. The country, however, maintains a large trade deficit, which increased sharply during 2007 by 50%, to €15 billion.[163]
After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other European economies.[164] In 2005, the government replaced Romania's progressive tax system with a flat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the country having the lowest fiscal burden in the European Union,[165] a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for 55% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 35% and 10% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 32% of the Romanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe.[162]
Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe. Foreign direct investment was valued at €8.3 billion in 2006.[166] According to a 2006 World Bank report, Romania currently ranks 55th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as the Czech Republic.[167] Additionally, the same study judged it to be the world's second-fastest economic reformer (after Georgia) in 2006.[168]
The average gross wage per month in Romania was 1855 lei in May 2009,[169] equating to €442.48 (US$627.70) based on international exchange rates, and $1110.31 based on purchasing power parity.[170] In 2009 the Romanian economy contracted as a result of the global economic downturn. Gross domestic product contracted 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the same period a year earlier,[171] and the budget deficit for 2009 reached 7.2% of GDP.[172] Industrial output growth however reached 6.9% year-on-year in December 2009, the highest in the EU-27.[173]
Due to its location, Romania is a major crossroad for International economic exchange in Europe. However, because of insufficient investment, maintenance and repair, the transport infrastructure does not meet the current needs of a market economy and lags behind Western Europe.[174] Nevertheless, these conditions are rapidly improving and catching up with the standards of Trans-European transport networks. Several projects have been started with funding from grants from ISPA and several loans from International Financial Institutions (World Bank, IMF, etc.) guaranteed by the state, to upgrade the main road corridors. Also, the Government is actively pursuing new external financing or public-private partnerships to further upgrade the main roads, and especially the country's motorway network.[174]
The World Bank estimates that the railway network in Romania comprised 22,298 kilometres (13,855 mi) of track in 2004, which would make it the fourth largest railroad network in Europe.[175] The railway transport experienced a dramatic fall in freight and passenger volumes from the peak volumes recorded in 1989 mainly due to the decline in GDP and competition from road transport. In 2004, the railways carried 8.64 billion passenger-km in 99 million passenger journeys, and 73 million metric tonnes, or 17 billion ton-km of freight.[132] The combined total transportation by rail constituted around 45% of all passenger and freight movement in the country.[132]
Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history and is a significant contributor to the Romania's economy. In 2006, the domestic and international tourism generated about 4.8% of gross domestic product and 5.8% of the total jobs (about half a million jobs).[177] Following commerce, tourism is the second largest component of the services sector. Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest developing sectors of the economy of Romania and characterized by a huge potential for development.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council Romania is the fourth fastest growing country in the world in terms of travel and tourism total demand with a yearly potential growth of 8% from 2007-2016.[178] Number of tourists grew from 4.8 million in 2002 to 6.6 million in 2004.[132] Similarly, the revenues grew from 400 million in 2002 to 607 in 2004.[132] In 2006, Romania registered 20 million overnight stays by international tourists, an all-time record,[179] but the number for 2007 is expected to increase even more.[180] Tourism in Romania attracted €400 million in investments in 2005.[181]
Over the last years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans (more than 60% of the foreign visitors were from EU countries),[180] thus attempting to compete with Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Spain. Romania destinations such as Mangalia, Saturn, Venus, Neptun, Olimp, Constanta and Mamaia (sometimes called the Romanian Riviera) are among the most popular attraction during summer.[182] During winter, the skiing resorts along the Valea Prahovei and Poiana Braşov are popular with foreign visitors.
The Palace of Culture in Iaşi was built between 1906 and 1925 and hosts several museums.
Romania has a unique culture, which is the product of its geography and of its distinct historical evolution. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be truly included in any of them.[185] The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed Roman and quite possibly Dacian elements,[186] with many other influences.
The Romanian literature began to truly evolve with the revolutions of 1848 and the union of the two Danubian Principalities in 1859. The Origin of the Romanians began to be discussed and in Transylvania and Romanian scholars began studying in France, Italy and Germany.[187] The German philosophy and French culture were integrated into modern Romanian literature and a new elite of artists led to the appearance of some of the classics of the Romanian literature such as Mihai Eminescu, George Coşbuc, Ioan Slavici.
Although they remain little known outside Romania, they are very appreciated within Romania for giving birth to a true Romanian literature by creating modern lyrics with inspiration from the old folklore tales. Of them, Eminescu is considered the most important and influential Romanian poet, and is still very much loved for his creations, and especially the poem Luceafărul.[189] Among other writers that made large contributions around the second half of 19th century are Mihail Kogălniceanu (also the first prime minister of Romania), Vasile Alecsandri, Nicolae Bălcescu, Ion Luca Caragiale, and Ion Creangă.
The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many Romanian scholars as the Golden Age of Romanian culture and it is the period when it reached its main level of international affirmation and a strong connection to the European cultural trends.[190] The most important artist who had a great influence on the world culture was the sculptorConstantin Brâncuşi, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction, the innovator of world sculpture by immersion in the primordial sources of folk creation. His sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way for modernist sculptors.[191] As a testimony to his skill, one of his pieces, "Bird in Space" , was sold in an auction for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for any sculpture.[192][193]
After the world wars, communism brought heavy censorship and used the cultural world as a means to better control the population. Freedom of expression was constantly restricted in various ways, but the likes of Gellu Naum, Nichita Stănescu, Marin Sorescu or Marin Preda managed to escape censorship, broke with "socialist realism" and were the leaders of a small "Renaissance" in Romanian literature.[196] While not many of them managed to obtain international acclaim due to censorship, some, like Constantin Noica, Paul Goma and Mircea Cărtărescu, had their works published abroad even though they were jailed for various political reasons.
Some artists chose to leave the country entirely, and continued to make contributions in exile. Among them Eugen Ionescu, Mircea Eliade and Emil Cioran became renowned internationaly for their works. Other literary figures who enjoy acclaim outside of the country include the poet Paul Celan and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, both survivors of the Holocaust. Some famous Romanian artists musicians are the folk artist Tudor Gheorghe, and the virtuoso of the pan fluteGheorghe Zamfir – who is reported to have sold over 120 million albums worldwide.[197][198]
Romania's contribution to the World Heritage List stands out because it consists of some groups of monuments scattered around the country, rather than one or two special landmarks.[203] Also, in 2007, the city of Sibiu famous for its Brukenthal National Museum is the European Capital of Culture alongside the city of Luxembourg.
The national flag of Romania is a tricolour with vertical stripes: beginning from the flagpole, blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3. Romania's national flag is very similar to that of Chad.[204][205][206]
Tennis is the second most popular sport in terms of registered sportsmen.[207] Romania reached the Davis Cup finals three times (1969, 1971, 1972). The tennis player Ilie Năstase won several Grand Slam titles and dozens of other tournaments, and was the first player to be ranked as number 1 by ATP from 1973 to 1974. The Romanian Open is held every fall in Bucharest since 1993.
Romanian gymnastics has had a large number of successes – for which the country became known worldwide.[211] In the 1976 Summer Olympics, the gymnast Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast ever to score a perfect ten. She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen.[212] Her success continued in the 1980 Summer Olympics, where she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals. In her career she won 30 medals, 21 of them were golden
Romania participated for the first time in the Olympic Games in 1900 and has taken part in 18 of the 24 summer games. Romania has been one of the more successful countries at the Summer Olympic Games (15th overall) with a total of 283 medals won throughout the years, 82 of which are gold medals.[213] Winter sports have received little investments and thus only a single bronze medal was won by Romanian sportsmen in the Winter Olympic Games.
^"am scris aceste sfente cǎrţi de învăţături, sǎ fie popilor rumânesti... sǎ înţeleagǎ toţi oamenii cine-s rumâni creştini" "Întrebare creştineascǎ" (1559), Bibliografia româneascǎ veche, IV, 1944, p. 6. "...că văzum cum toate limbile au şi înfluresc întru cuvintele slǎvite a lui Dumnezeu numai noi românii pre limbă nu avem. Pentru aceia cu mare muncǎ scoasem de limba jidoveascǎ si greceascǎ si srâbeascǎ pre limba româneascǎ 5 cărţi ale lui Moisi prorocul si patru cărţi şi le dăruim voo fraţi rumâni şi le-au scris în cheltuială multǎ... şi le-au dăruit voo fraţilor români,... şi le-au scris voo fraţilor români" Palia de la Orǎştie (1581–1582), Bucureşti, 1968. În Ţara Ardealului nu lăcuiesc numai unguri, ce şi saşi peste seamă de mulţi şi români peste tot locul..., Grigore Ureche, Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei, p. 133–134.
^ In his well known literary testament Ienăchiţă Văcărescu writes: "Urmaşilor mei Văcăreşti!/Las vouă moştenire:/Creşterea limbei româneşti/Ş-a patriei cinstire."
In the "Istoria faptelor lui Mavroghene-Vodă şi a răzmeriţei din timpul lui pe la 1790" a Pitar Hristache writes: "Încep după-a mea ideie/Cu vreo câteva condeie/Povestea mavroghenească/Dela Ţara Românească.
^ The first known mention of the term "Romania" in its modern denotation dates from 1816, as the Greek scholar Dimitrie Daniel Philippide published in Leipzig his work "The History of Romania", followed by "The Geography of Romania".
On the tombstone of Gheorghe Lazăr in Avrig (built in 1823) there is the inscription: "Precum Hristos pe Lazăr din morţi a înviat/Aşa tu România din somn ai deşteptat."
^Andréas Verres. Acta et Epistolae. I. pp. 243. ""nunc se Romanos vocant""
^Cl. Isopescu (1929). "Notizie intorno ai romeni nella letteratura geografica italiana del Cinquecento". Bulletin de la Section HistoriqueXVI: 1–90. ""...si dimandano in lingua loro Romei...se alcuno dimanda se sano parlare in la lingua valacca, dicono a questo in questo modo: Sti Rominest ? Che vol dire: Sai tu Romano,..."".
^Maria Holban (1983) (in Romanian). Călători străini despre Ţările Române. II. Ed. Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică. pp. 158–161. "“Anzi essi si chiamano romanesci, e vogliono molti che erano mandati quì quei che erano dannati a cavar metalli...”"
^Paul Cernovodeanu (1960) (in Romanian). Voyage fait par moy, Pierre Lescalopier l’an 1574 de Venise a Constantinople, fol 48. IV. 444. ""Tout ce pays la Wallachie et Moldavie et la plus part de la Transivanie a esté peuplé des colonie romaines du temps de Traian l’empereur…Ceux du pays se disent vrais successeurs des Romains et nomment leur parler romanechte, c'est-à-dire romain … ""
^Brezeanu, Stelian (1999). Romanitatea Orientalǎ în Evul Mediu. Bucharest: Editura All Educational. pp. 229–246.
^ Goina, Călin. How the State Shaped the Nation: an Essay on the Making of the Romanian Nation in Regio - Minorities, Politics, Society. Néprajzi Múzeum. No 1/2005. p. 157
^Trinkaus, E.; Milota, S; Rodrigo, R; Mircea, G; Moldovan, O (2003). "Early Modern Human Cranial remains from the Peştera cu Oase". Journal of Human Evolution45 (3): 245–253. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2003.08.003. PMID14580595.
^Zilhão, João (2006). "Neanderthals and Moderns Mixed and It Matters". Evolutionary Anthropology15: 183–195. doi:10.1002/evan.20110.
^Kocsis, Karoly; Kocsis-Hodosi, Eszter (2001). Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin. Simon Publications. pp. 102. ISBN193131375X.
^Prodan, David (1971). Supplex Libellus Valachorum= Or, The Politicle Struggle of Romanians in Transylvania During the 18th Century. Bucharest: Academy of Social Republic of Romania.
^Bobango, Gerald J (1979). The emergence of the Romanian national State. New York: Boulder. ISBN9780914710516.
^Anderson, Frank Maloy; Hershey, Amos Shartle (1918). Handbook for the Diplomatic History of Europe, Asia, and Africa 1870-1914. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
^Bernard Anthony Cook (2001). Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. Taylor&Francis. p. 162. ISBN0815340575.
^Note: follow the World War II link: (2005-11-09) Romania:World War II, Washington D.C.: Library of Congress.Federal Research Division. (Report). Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
^Roper, Stephen D. (2000). Romania: The Unfinished Revolution. London: Routledge. pp. 18. ISBN9058230279.
^Cioroianu, Adrian (2005) (in Romanian). "On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism". Bucharest: Editura Curtea Veche. pp. 68–73. ISBN9736691756.
^Stan Stoica (2007) (in Romanian). Dicţionar de Istorie a României. Bucharest: Editura Merona. pp. 77–78; 233–34. ISBN9737839218.
^Caraza, Grigore (2004) (in Romanian). Aiud însângerat. Chapter IV. Editura Vremea XXI. ISBN9736450503.[page needed]
^Cicerone Ioniţoiu (2000) (in Romanian). Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestaţi, torturaţi, întemniţaţi, ucişi. Dicţionar. Bucharest: Editura Maşina de scris. ISBN973-99994-2-5.[page needed]
^(2004) Recensământul populaţiei concentraţionare din România în anii 1945-1989. Sighet: Centrul Internaţional de Studii asupra Comunismului. (Report).
^(2006-12-15) Raportul Comisiei Prezidenţiale pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România. Comisia Prezidenţială pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România, pp. 215–217. (Report).
^ abReport from Romanian National Institute of Statistics. (Report). Retrieved on 2008-01-11. “for the first 9 months of 2007 an increase from the previous year of 8.7% to 16.5 million tourists; of these 94.0% came from European countries and 61.7% from EU”
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